Everything You Need To Know Before Buying a Honda Civic Si

With active steering, active damping, and a 1.5L turbocharged engine, Honda promises the new Civic Si will be the fastest Si ever. But is turbocharged complexity really what we think of when we hear "Civic Si?" I put it to you that Si stands for Simplicity, as observed in one of the last pure Hondas: the sixth generation Civic Si coupe.

If you want one, it's best to begin properly. You see, finding an unmolested version of the 1999-2000 Honda Civic Si is going to be somewhat challenging. Most of these cars are on their fifth owner by now, and have passed into the hands of people who think that the best part of waking your neighbors up is using a Folger's coffee can as a muffler.

Some trivia: in 1945, after a massive B-29 raid over Hamamatsu destroyed his piston ring factory, Soichiro Honda sold the salvage and bought an enormous tank for making moonshine. He then spent an entire year getting drunk with his friends.

Thus, to find an Si that's relatively stock, let's first honor the spirit of dreams by pouring out a little Suntory for Soichiro. With the father of high-revving small-displacement engines now beaming down, ready to bestow good fortune, it should be much easier to get your hands on one of the last Honda products that would have made him truly happy. Double wishbones for luck: here's how to get a proper Civic Si.

What to look for:

Honda

Honda fans had to do without the Si badge on the back of a Civic for the first few years of the sixth generation Honda Civic, but in 1998 it was back. Available only in coupe form for the 1999 model year, the Civic Si was now an exclusively American phenomenon. Elsewhere, related models were badged as the SiR or VTi.

The sixth generation Civic coupe was a pretty good platform to turn into a nippy little street car. Compared with the current oddly-styled modern offerings, the '90s Civic was simple and pretty and 500lb lighter. It also still featured a relatively low seating position, large greenhouse, and the oft-praised double wishbone suspension.

Hondas have historically been able to do a lot with only modest power, and even the basic sixth generation cars were scrappily fun to drive. However, there had been a weight gain compared to the previous version, so keeping the Si relevant was going to take a bit more power this time.

In previous years, the Japanese market kept all the really hot Honda stuff to themselves, but the then-new Civic Si brought the wasabi. The suspension was reworked for stiffness, with the addition of progressive springs and heavier sway bars front and rear. A strut tower brace was also added up front, and great-looking 15" wheels wearing 195/55/R15 tires were added. Disc brakes similar to the Acura Integra at all four corners completed the package.

What really got everyone excited was what the Si had in its engine bay.

What really got everyone excited was what the Si had in its engine bay: the 1.6L B16A2 four-cylinder engine. Producing 160 hp at 7600rpm and 111 lb-ft of torque at 7000rpm, the B16 was very close to the JDM goodness imbued into the hottest Civics on the other side of the Pacific Rim. It featured double overhead cams, 10.2:1 compression, and VTEC.

VTEC is already well-known for kicking in, yo, but perhaps a little closer look will be of merit. Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control debuted in the US market with the Acura NSX. Essentially, the system allows an engine to take advantage of two cam profiles: one suitable for smooth operation and good fuel economy at lower rpms, and a hotter one with greater lift at high revs. The result is excellent volumetric efficiency, returning maximum horsepower from a small-displacement engine without turning to forced induction. VTEC is reliable technology that rarely fails as long as regular maintenance is performed.

As a package, the Civic Si basically represented a factory version of the car most Honda tuners were trying to build. It had the hot engine already swapped in, the best parts fitted into the suspension, and a few cosmetic enhancements. Both years were essentially identical, with the only drawbacks being the weight of the moonroof and air-conditioning, a relatively high price, and one ominously looming coming attraction. . .

What to avoid:

VTEC, about to kick in, yo.

Honda

Two years after the Civic Si hit the market, a little movie called The Fast and The Furious arrived. A decade and a half later, we owe this franchise thanks for years of entertainment, getting a new generation interested in car culture, and endless cheesy one-liners. However, for certain cars, the F&F series was basically smallpox.

Spurred on by the desire to create ten-second cars, all manner of amateur car builders began ruining perfectly good machines, one after another. Bodykits were improperly fitted. Wiring for immense subwoofers was inexpertly installed. Giant do-nothing spoilers were attached to cars still riding on balding 14" all-season tires.

As a result, many a Honda Civic fell victim to the underglow plague, and ended up irretrievably wrecked. Happily, the Civic Si held its value very well, so many were preserved simply because they were initially too expensive for the fumble-fingered to obtain. As we collectively outgrew our obsession with diamond-plate floorboards, a few cars survived.

While it's difficult to find a stock Si, that's what you should hold out for.

While it's still quite difficult to find a mostly-factory Si, that's exactly what you should hold out for. There are basically two types of Civic stories: that of the unkillable machine that kept screaming to redline as long as routine maintenance was performed, and that of the seemed-like-a-good-deal that turns out to have different-sized brake rotors fitted to each side.

Do not attempt to rescue a craigslist Civic Si that's been ill cared-for. Instead, be patient and be prepared to pay the premium for a car that has high miles but a comprehensive service history. Scour forums rather than mainstream automotive advertising sites, and look for a mildly-modded car owned by an enthusiast who's also competent. It'll be far less expensive in the end.

Having hopefully come across a car that's received only minor fiddling, it's now time to look at what can go wrong with a normal Si. It's a pretty short list.

First, rust. We're talking a car that's old enough to have worried about Y2K crashing its iMac, and that means exposure to the elements. If you're looking for a Civic Si in the North Eastern states, you might want to bring along a dustpan. Look South and West instead, and plan to fly in and drive back: the best way to experience any new-to-you car in the first place. Unless it's Italian.

Second, theft. Stealing a sixth-generation Honda Civic is about as difficult as putting on a hat. It's unlikely that you'll be looking at a car that's actually stolen, but it's worth taking extra care in perusing the vehicle history here to check to see if the car had two careful owners and one sticky-fingered maniac.

Third, all the standard used car precautions apply. Check wear items, look for cracked radiator end tanks, check oil condition, check the clutch for wear (all Civic Sis are 5spd manual only), and watch for obvious accident damage. Cars of this age are relatively simple, but it's worth getting a quick third-party mechanical inspection, especially if you're having to travel out to pick up the car.

A note on modifications:

Finding a completely unmodifed Civic Si is, for about the fourth or fifth time, not going to be easy. Speak with any well-informed Honda fan, and they'll likely tell you that you're hunting unicorns.

As such, you're probably going to have to put up with a cold-air intake and an aftermarket shift knob at the very least. With such a broad fanbase, the Civic supported a huge and varied aftermarket, with all sorts of bolt-on goodies being added to cars every other paycheck. Most items add noise rather than performance. The oft-praised trinity of intake, header, and exhaust simply tends to move the powerband around rather than actually making additional power. It's not worth paying extra for, but it's perhaps not much of a penalty either.

Desirable modifications include polyurethane bushings and added bracing. A rear sway bar can help the car rotate a little better, and is a popular update. Coilovers are also popular for lowering a Civic aggressively, but there are a lot of cheap options here that effectively ruin the sweetness of the Si's factory setup.

Bolt size is very common at 4x100, and all kinds of wheels may be considered upgrades. 17" is far too large for the Si, with the factory 15"s being the best if you can find them.

To flip everything entirely on its head, it may be worth considering buying a fake Si, or a regular Civic properly swapped to Si specs. B16 and B18 engine swaps are straightforward if done correctly, and mixing and matching Acura brake and suspension components can create a fast and fun little machine. Looking at a heavily modified machine is spinning the roulette wheel somewhat, but it does open up options. A swapped basic hatchback will be much lighter than a factory Si, though the latter will likely hold its value better down the line.

Community:

Not blue, still an Si.

Honda

As you'd expect from a car with the widespread appeal and audience of the Honda Civic, there are near-endless online resources to explore. A few of note include clubcivic.com, civicforums.com, and honda-tech.com, and of course the legendary Temple of VTEC (vtec.net), all places of Civic discourse.

If you're new to the Honda scene, navigating any of these places will require a bit of an adjustment. Members often throw around engine and chassis codes without explanation, so you'll have to pick up the lingo on the fly. There's also a bit of odd humor to get your head around: there is, I kid you not, a popular type of cold air intake unofficially called the Whale Penis.

But overall, the Civic online community both locally and nationally is enormously helpful once sifted through. People come together in keeping their cars running, and learning how to make them fast. Modern machines might be getting more complex, but this passion for Honda is simple. It's distilled. Soichiro would have loved it.

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